Washington, DC — Liberian human rights lawyer Tiawan Saye Gongloe, who was beaten this week in detention by state security officers in Monrovia, by his own account, has told allAfrica.com that his injuries are very severe and that he has been left only with "my voice and my spirit".
Speaking to allAfrica.com by cell phone from his hospital bed, Gongloe said he was still in detention and that police were guarding his room. He said those detaining him had accused him of being a dissident. He said he could not talk further and terminated the call.
Gongloe was picked up on Wednesday evening by police officers and detained at the headquarters of the Liberian National Police without warrant or charge.
The government has blamed Gongloe's fellow prison inmates for beating him during an alleged altercation in which he refused to pay "fees" imposed by other prisoners. The official statement said that a contingent of police officers had to rescue him and take him to hospital.
However, a source in Monrovia who saw Gongloe in hospital and spoke with him said the injuries Gongloe had sustained during his one night in detention were caused by police officers.
"Gongloe has a deep cut over his right eye, bruises on his back and other parts of his body and pain in his chest and back. Gongloe also complains that he cannot hear with his left ear," said the source, who asked not to be named. Local journalists said police had intended to remove the injured man from the hospital but faced opposition from the medical staff.
The source said Gongloe had detailed his treatment while in custody. "He was stripped completely naked and placed in a cell with police and other state security officers in plain clothes there to torture him. All through the night, he was tortured, including being placed in feces and urine. He was accused of being a dissident engaged in spreading negative information against the (Taylor) government," the source told allAfrica.com.
While Mr Gongloe was being taken to the police headquarters, Monrovia's Analyst newspaper was being closed down by police, apparently for publishing the text of a speech by Gongloe.
The speech, entitled "Political Activities for the Attainment of Peace and Development in the Mano River Union," was made at the second meeting of the Mano River Union Civil Society Movement, held in the Guinean capital, Conakry, at the end of March.
Liberia's former information minister in the Interim Government of National Unity (1991-4), Lamini Waritay, described Gongloe's detention and torture by state security officers as contradicting the Liberian government's declared intention to demonstrate to the international community that it respects the civil liberties of citizens.
"The attacks on Dr. Sawyer, Conmany Wesseh, journalists, and Gongloe show a pattern of human rights violations that doesn't make the government look good, at a time sanctions are on the country and Liberia's human rights record is dirty and muddy all over the place," Mr Waritay said.
He said President Charles Taylor was "the most powerful person in Liberia" and could prevent such acts of violence. He urged him to intervene to restore respect for the rule of law.
Dr. Togbah Nah Tipoteh, chairman of the Liberian People's Party (LPP) agreed that the treatment of Gongloe contradicted the government's stated aims.
"Gongloe's situation is a major setback for reconciliation," Tipoteh said. Speaking from his party offices in Monrovia, he said that the action against Gongloe was an injustice.
Several human rights groups and civic organizations have issued releases condemning both Gongloe's treatment and the closure of The Analyst.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said: "The government of Charles Taylor is using violence to silence independent voices speaking out about Liberia's deteriorating human rights record."
Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division, said President Taylor was tightening his repressive grip, and Liberians who call on the government to respect human rights were "getting in his way".
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In his speech in Conakry, Gongloe spoke against the use of violence as a means of attaining political power. He criticized civil society organizations that fail to press governments to implement policies for advancement, and choose instead to serve as "cheering squads" for those in power.
Police Director Paul Mulbah reportedly made a statement on radio saying that Mr Gongloe will remain in police custody while police investigations continue. Mulbah is reported to have said in the broadcast that "the Analyst newspaper may never appear on news-stands again."
The independent newspaper, The NEWS reported a statement from the ministry of information confirming the closure of the offices of the paper by the police and stating that the paper will remain closed, pending "investigations that the paper is acting as agent for political detractors by inciting the public with fiery publications to create chaos."
